| Abstract: | Exposure-based treatments known to be effective for a wide range of psychopathology are thought to work via inhibitory learning, where new learning acquired during exposure exercises inhibits previously learned fear and avoidance responses. One way in which this inhibitory learning may be enhanced is through affect labeling, during which clients verbalize their internal emotional experiences. Theoretically, affect labeling may be a subtle, implicit form of emotion regulation and may facilitate more explicit forms of extinction learning. Experimental research suggests that affect labeling may lead to attenuated fear responses to emotionally evocative stimuli in healthy samples and may be a helpful strategy in reducing physiological arousal experienced during exposure tasks, particularly for clients with inhibitory deficits. Research with clinical samples is limited and mixed, at best. Case examples illustrate how affective labeling may help get a client “unstuck” from unproductive processing loops, can contribute to shifts in perspective and meaning making, and may modulate distress and promote distress tolerance. We argue that routine use of affect labeling in clinical care is premature. When used, it should be employed strategically within a broader case conceptualization and may be of a limited benefit beyond what is already employed in quality exposure therapy. |
